Ismaili Lisbon Centre

Intended for cultural, educational, and religious activities, the Ismaili Lisbon Centre comprises a set of 5 reinforced concrete buildings with very particular characteristics. Overall, the structure is organized in orthogonal grids of 5m x 5m, with some spaces having 10m or 20m clear spans. The foundations were executed by piles. The roof of the prayer room is formed by an orthogonal grid of prestressed cables connected through metallic diverters (in the shape of a tetrahedron) to the steel support structure and connected to the precast reinforced concrete domes, 5 cm thick, reinforced with galvanised steel meshes. The prestressed cables are located inside a stainless steel tube. The main hall is a large space, 20m x 25m, without central supports. Its roof consists of a prestressed reinforced concrete girder, with very slender beams. The interconnection between them through a system of reinforced concrete cross beams along the underside allows the remarkable architectural design of the ceilings to be established.